


Oh No

by Rascalbirdy



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And maybe I might have to pump up the rating later, Angst, Cafe Living, Fluff, I'll add more characters as they steadily appear 8D, M/M, Slow Burn, Talon is an organization, but until then this is a-ok, gay af, then fluff again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-02-18 05:19:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13093221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rascalbirdy/pseuds/Rascalbirdy
Summary: Jack is a private investigator assigned to get close to Gabriel Reyes, a Talon member suspect. It’s one of his most dangerous cases, his life being gambled for the high stake of Talon information. He just has to not let his feelings get ahead of him before he gets what he wants from Gabriel.Honestly, between dying or falling in love with the man, he can’t decide which is worse.





	1. Club Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack sets his sights to his job, Gabriel Reyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! 8D  
> This is my first Overwatch Fanfiction and I'm my own beta so please be kind. Hopefully there aren't any mistakes despite me roving through it all, but I've been excited to write this. I've wanted to write a Reaper76 fanfic for a while, but I could never think of what to write, but now that I have, here ya go.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> P.S. Here's how I imagine [Gabriel's Penthouse](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/25/67/d2/2567d2b9cbc305323e93156b92ff838e--small-apartment-plans-studio-apartment-floor-plans.jpg)

In hindsight, Jack should’ve put more thought into this case.

As a private investigator, he was taken on a case to befriend and be close to Gabriel Reyes, a possible member part of Talon. Talon was a capricious melting pot that littered around the city of Los Angeles, California, but over the years, it became a bit more noticeable that Talon may have its crummy roots in several other places in the world. He was hired because they needed more information, an experienced PI who was willing to risk infiltrating into a dangerous group with a high possibility of a quick death, who had the ability to confront and who could be independent and wouldn’t pull dumb stunts.

His colleague and supervisor, Ana Amari, ran him through the process only a week or so ago. She was motherly, quick-witted and sharp but the second she was behind a gun she was fast and precise, the ability to take down up to eight people with one bullet if her environment allowed it. She was also one of Jack’s oldest friends, having had seen each other through college and studying long hard nights to get to where they were now. She believed Jack was the most trusted with this type of case. He was known to climb through case after case with the patience of a saint, but the ruthlessness of a devil when it was required. Despite being a bit reckless, he made up for it with his acting and his charm.

So she gave him the rundown.

Gabriel Reyes. A relatively introverted man who kept to himself. Not much was known about him. He passed through high school with flying colors, passed college just as easily, and was known by few friends and acquaintances to be a “great guy”, “funny and exciting”, and even known to be “a real jokester, who likes to mess with people, but knew when to stop.” There were some questioning in his background though. One of the big ones being the fact Gabriel owned a penthouse with money that was gained from simple freelancing jobs. He would fly the allegations off with a snort of “hard work” and supposedly gained insurance from his deceased parents. Now, it may not have seemed suspicious and could have been swept under the rug.

The fact Gabriel once had a space for himself in their computers and that page just one day “disappeared” was enough of a warning sign for people like Ana and Jack to take a second look.

So now Jack was in a club and sipping a Sex on the Beach. It was fitting for his goal of the night. Blonde hair with specks of silver splayed more tousled than usual, he made sure to wear a tight, rich purple button up with two top buttons loose and sleeves rolled up to his elbows (Ana believed purple made his blue eyes pop) and black jeans that were loose, yet hugged his legs in the right places.

He’d been sitting at the bar for nearly an hour. The music was loud, pumping the bodies on the dance floor with drunken adrenaline and an endorphin high. He knew how to dance, he had to learn it when he committed to one case, but his goal wasn’t to dance. It was to find Gabriel Reyes. The man was supposedly a weekly nightclub goer. Considering how expensive nightclubs are, especially in Los Angeles, it only pushed on his financial questionability in Jack’s eyes. The man should've been here, but Jack was growing bored of taking sips of several, varying drinks. He was barely buzzed, but then again, he also had a high tolerance for alcohol.

As he started to debate whether or not he should call Ana on his phone to check up on her, someone tapped him on his shoulder. With a twitch, he didn’t even look over when he made the gruff comment of,  “I’m not looking for a partner.”

“Oh, well that’s good. I’m not either.” Shot back a playful voice.

Jack turned a heated glare but it was wiped away and left him slack-jawed. Gabriel Reyes in his red suited, golden vested-white button up glory, was talking to him. He didn’t look like he had a care in the world with his elbow on the table and a hand under his chin The very man he was supposed to have kept an eye out for, but somehow was caught first. Jack did his best to quickly close his mouth and play off like he wasn’t shocked but the damage was done and Gabriel was smirking at him. He spewed an air of narcissism and confidence that only seemed boosted and Jack would be a damn liar if he said that Gabriel wasn’t handsome despite being a possible criminal. The real thing didn’t nearly equalize to a photo.

_Shit._

“You wanna take a picture? I know i’m an eye candy, but you’re making me blush.” Gabriel raised a dark brow and Jack noticed how his hair was faded on the sides and curled in a mohawk, stray hairs dripping across his forehead. His jawline was sharp and covered in a well groomed goatee.

Jack cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. “As if. I was just shocked you’re still wearing a full suit in this place. It’s sweltering. Aren’t you hot?”

“I’ve been told, yeah. Why, you wanna help me cool off?”

Jack’s mouth twitched as he leaned back on the bar. He couldn’t differ if this man was smooth or if he was a cocky fuckboy. He was too stubborn to say both.

His questioning must’ve shown, because Gabriel huffed a laugh through his nostrils. “Sorry if i’m coming off rude, but to be fair, you left the field wide open.”

Jack wondered if that was a jab of an innuendo.

“But I was wondering if you were waiting for someone. I’ve been glancing at you for a while and you’ve just been sitting here, sipping a drink almost every time I glance over.” Gabriel had the gall to look embarrassed at his question. Jack noticed how his hand twitched, finger tapping at his own glass on the bar.

“You were staring at me?”

“Didn’t mean to. I was debating whether or not I should ask you for a dance, but you kept looking at the crowd like you were looking for someone, so I thought otherwise. That, and I saw a couple people try and come up to you and you almost immediately shooed them away. Can’t blame you though.” When Jack tilted his head, clearly processing what Gabriel was saying, the latter quickly added, “So are you? Cause I can walk away. Just say it.”

Maybe he drank a bit more than he thought or maybe it was just the complete irony of this situation: the person the PI is investigating is the same person who started talking first. Jack laughed behind his hand, eyes twinkling with mirth. Maybe he laughed a bit harder than he should’ve, but the beginning of this case was just too easy and too funny for him. He should be suspicious, really he should, but Gabriel only showed the signs of some nervous high schooler instead of a ruthless adult who had grey starting to show on his temples. Jack was still gonna investigate him, that was still a sure fact, but this was too funny. He waited for an hour, but it was completely unnecessary in the end.

His laugh was forcefully bitten down on as he heard Gabriel mutter something and stood up. Jack quickly reached over and held onto his bicep. Trying to ignore the firm muscle underneath, he shook his head. “No, no. Please sit down. I’m sorry for laughing, but I’d like to hang out with you. Sorry for my prickly personality. All night so far has just been boring and my friends bailed on me. Please, sit?” He looked up with a sincere smile, having set down his cup to wipe a tear away.

Gabriel looked at him with awe but it was a whiplash to a cheeky smirk. Sitting down again, he went back to his original position, if not leaning towards Jack an inch more. “Shoulda said that before you started laughing at me. Made me have flashback to some older more awkward days.”

“Oh? And how old are you?” Jack took his hand back and mirrored his pose.

Gabriel gasped with a hand over his chest as he leaned away. With faux horror, he yelped, “Excuse you! A man never says his age!”

Jack snickered. “Can I at least have a name if I can’t have your questionable age?”

Gabriel grinned, but it tinged with sharpness and promised danger that lazily crawled a chill down Jack’s spine. “Gabriel Reyes, questionable age, but definitely not questionable with anything else.” He winked. “And yourself, pretty boy?”

He only leaned closer to Gabriel and whispered huskily. “Jack Morrison, hopeful that, if you play your cards right, you’ll take care of him tonight.”

Gabriel’s eyes darkened, but he held his smirk.

They conversed with passing quips and playful jabs. Several times Jack laughed, but he took pride in the fact he got Gabriel to choke on his drink once when he made one particular jive at the fact that, “Why, no, Gabriel. I actually rather like doing rough work. Makes me happy and loosens my muscles. I was raised on a farm after all.”

Eventually they traveled onto the dance floor and Jack was shot back to the fact that Gabriel’s photo had nothing on the actual thing. This man was firm muscle and Jack wanted to touch every bit of it. True, Jack was buff himself, arms thick and a longstanding pack from long hours of the gym. Where he had a runner’s legs that left him agile, Gabriel’s thighs were thick and he was sure one kick would be enough knock out two teeth at least. They were nearly the same height, but Gabriel must’ve held a centimeter above him.

They joined the bouncing, grinding bodies on the colored dance floor. It was a blur of hands roaming promisingly low on his hips, his own hands gripping Gabriel’s shoulders only to stroke down his chest with nails scraping through the fabric of the now-unbuttoned vest. When Jack was turned around, their hips pressed together and moved to the pumping music in sync. He leaned his head back onto Gabriel’s shoulder so lips could nip up his neck with the faintest trace of teeth. He keened a bit, a light gasp escaping from between his lips as Gabriel massaged his hip, his thumb finding its way under his button up to whisper around Jack’s lower back and his other hand vaguely around his neck.

“Wanna go to my place?” Gabriel’s voice heavy, dripping with want and Jack wanted all of it. _Especially_ the promising bulge poking in his backside.

“Fuck, _yes._ ” He groaned.

During the cab ride, they gave each other heated looks. If he wasn't burning with want, Jack would almost be angry at how the other looked so calm and collected, though a bit ruffled up. Gabriel’s originally neat hair was askew and his blazer was laid on his lap. Instead, Jack tried to downplay the other by purposely leaning on him, using the darkness of the road to conceal the fact that his hand was running up and down Gabriel’s thigh under the blazer, each time getting closer to the very hidden tent. Jack loved the hushed warning growl full of marked promises when Jack’s hand cupped and pressed down on it, pulling away with a small stroke to go back down Gabriel’s thigh.

Next thing Jack knew, his back crashed into the front door just as it closed, a mouth immediately slanted over his and teeth clacked, but neither seemed to care. The rush of pain only added in to the growing pleasure. Their movements were spurred on between huffs, whimpers, and grunts as they rutted against each other through their pants, Gabriel’s thigh between his legs. As soon as Jack’s shirt was taken off, Gabriel stepped back and lifted the blonde by his thighs, effectively giving thankful ability to wrap his legs around delicious hips. Gabriel peppered a mixture of kisses and hickey’s along his neck and shoulders and Jack leaned his head to the side to give him all the more access. He barely had time to catch sight of the living room before the bedroom door closed.

* * *

 

Light filtered on Jack’s face and he shifted on the bed with an annoyed groan. Peeking an eye open, it took him a second to remember this black and red bed was not his, but Reyes’s. Remembering last night, he turned his head to find the other unsurprisingly gone. He stretched with a lewd moan, popping joints loudly with an even louder sigh as he forced himself to sit up and glance around the room for his clothes. The room was neat and simplistic, if not what kids these days would call “edgy”. There were some posters of some rock band, a tv mounted on the wall, a desk, a night stand on either side of the bed and a door for what Jack assumed was a walk-in closet, a long mirror hanging on it. Everything was damn near sparkly. The light that was hitting him came from a small balcony apparently also. Huh.

He watched himself get dressed and grinned contently at the scratches and hickies littering his body, the finger marks on his hips and around his neck. Yeah, his ass ached a bit and so did his voice, but fuck yeah was it worth it all. It was only phase one of the plan at the end of the night. Just as he did his best to fix his hair, he noticed Gabriel come into the room, thickly smelling of spice and mint. He was wiping his hair with a towel and wore a black sweatshirt with regular black sweatpants.

“What’s up, sleeping beauty?”

Jack turned towards him, but didn't move when Gabriel wrapped his arms around his waist. Wrapping his arms around Gabriel’s neck, he purred. “Morning to you to.”

“I’m about to cook up some breakfast. You want some before you leave?” Brown eyes twinkled with mischief and it caused a suspicious squint. Gabriel took pride in the fact he was able to ruin so many voices in only a night.

“You’d cook for a one-night stand?”

He shrugged and lazily grinned. “Might as well. Never gonna see you again, that's for sure.”

Oh, if only he knew they were about to become the best of friends, probably-most likely with some benefits. Jack only lowered his head and snorted a laugh. “Yeah, sure, why the hell not. I'm not an idiot to turn down free food.” Letting each other go, Jack glanced to the side. “Actually, is it alright if I go and shower? I smell like sex and, y’know, usually I don’t mind, but I’d like to smell good for my walk of shame.”

Gabriel cocked a brow and his grin widened, hands wrapping around the ends of his towel. “And here I thought you’d like the scent of our night together.”

“Oh, you really think you’re scent is that good?”

“I know it smells good when it’s on you.”

Jack snorted. “So should I take that as a no?”

“Nah, you can go on ahead. Bathroom’s beside the bedroom door and there's a closet in it full of towels. Just put it in the laundry basket when you’re all spiffed up, golden boy.” Gabriel informed him, rubbing the towel between his hair before combing through it with his fingers to try and release some stubborn water.

“‘Golden boy’? What happened to pretty boy?”

“Didn’t know you even kept track of the pet name.”

Again with that lazy grin that made Jack shiver. Quickly locking any thoughts away in the back of his mind, he muttered a ‘thank you’ and quickly turned to go out.

“Ah!” He yelped just as the sound of a towel snapping echoed in the room and was quickly followed by Gabriel’s booming laughter. He turned to glare at the man, but it was difficult seeing the rough-and-tough bending over and hugging his stomach in childish silliness., the offensive weapon tightly held in one hand. It was a different side to the club. Still, he huffed and rubbed his ass. “You’re gonna regret that, edgy boy.”

“‘E-Edgy boy’?” Gabriel wheezed. “Ohhh, you hurt me, Jack! My insides are burning!”

Jack only humphed and turned his head, arms crossed. He tried to walk out with what little pride he had left, but screamed and immediately shot out of the room as another loud ‘SNAP’ resounded by his ear. Gabriel’s laugh echoed behind the closed door.

The bathroom was just like it’s owner: too much and deceivingly gorgeous all the same. Black marble floor and walls with red bathroom rugs. There was a white jacuzzi, a toilet, a brown cabinet under it, and a clear standing shower. Unsurprising to Jack, there was an Old Spice body wash and fruity shampoo and conditioner. No wonder that man smells damn good.

By the time he came back out with a towel on top of his head, Gabriel was setting down two plates beside two cups of orange juice. It had toast, eggs and bacon laid on top of it in a dorky smiley face. He stared at it before squinting playfully at the proud creator. “Really?”

Gabriel clicked his tongue. “I’m old enough for no one to tell me I can’t play with my food. I gotta have _some_ fun with it.” Undeterred by Jack’s playful judgment, he decided to stay on the other side of the island across from him. Gabriel cut his egg and they ate in content silence.

It was ruined when Gabriel calmly commented between bites, “Y’know, I didn’t take you as the rough type. Especially now that I learned you were a farm boy.”

Jack glanced up with a hum. Swallowing a bite of toast, he jabbed back with a smirk. “Well, if it makes a difference, I _guess_ you were ok. It could’ve been better, but i’ll blame the alcohol. Maybe you’re a bit rustier than you remember.”

Snort. “Sure, pretty boy. Don’t get a big head just cause you wanna try and save yourself.”

“Too late. Already had yours.”

Gabriel choked on his drink and immediately set it down, his free hand dropping his fork in favor of covering his fits of coughs. Jack could tell with the shaking of the shoulders and the wheezing that the man was having trouble laughing.

“If it helps, I don’t do that also.”

Gabriel barked with some shaky, “ow, ow” and a hand waving mercy at Jack as he laid his head on his forearm. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” Gabriel rumbled.

Jack only smirked at his clear victory and ate the last bit of his eggs. He reached over and patted Gabriel’s head.

They finished their eating with an impish mood, the both of them passing the other with some glances that traveled to doltish faces. Gabriel won when Jack broke first and started laughing. You can never go wrong with a fish face.

Jack had to head out and he thanked Gabriel for the food, happy to have a different taste in his mouth until he got back to the hotel room he was using temporarily. It was dingy and the walls were worryingly thin, but he didn’t mind. Usually it was Ana who was always on the cusp of going to a person’s door personally and cursing them out in arabic before statin gin English, “Quiet down or I’ll make you.” Gorgeous as she was, she was a sight to behold when her anger sparked.

Gabriel wrapped an arm around his waist before he walked out the door, sweeping him up in one last heated kiss. It ended far too fast in Jack’s opinion, but he was gonna make more in the future for sure. “Don’t get lost.”

Jack only laughed and patted Gabriel’s chest. “I won’t.”

When he was in the cab, to go to the bar to pick up his keys, he took out his burner phone and called up Ana. It was only on the first ring before she picked up the phone.

“Ana Amari, what is it?”

Jack whistled. “Still tough as nails since I’ve been gone, Ana or is this just a show?”

There was a heaved breath on the other side of the phone and he could almost see her sag her shoulders and lean over her desk. “Jack,” she breathed. “How are you? Have you eaten? Are you well? What’s going on? You have any updates?”

“Whoa there, Ana.” He chuckled. “Relax. I’m alright. I’ve been doing good, ok? I just went to the club.” Maybe it was cause he didn’t know who was listening in on to the point he couldn’t fully trust the cab driver. This case was just dangerous enough that you didn’t know who could possibly be in Talon and who couldn’t. So he was thankful when Ana got the silent message.

She snickered on the other side. “I’m sure you had a fun night, Jack. It sure sounds like you did.” He clicked his tongue, knowing she knew about his embarrassed blush. He’d completely forgot about that. “I’m assuming you met the man of your dreams?”

“Yeah, totally. He was super hot. Sinfully so. His penthouse really is something too. Black marble in his bathroom, an even cozier bed. The man makes a mean breakfast though.”

Ana hummed and he faintly heard typing and some papers shuffling. She must’ve been reviewing other people’s cases and he had half a mind to ask what problems there were so he could help. She was at the desk a bit more often than she would’ve preferred these days and he felt bad for her. “At least you ate. You always struggle to stay on a normal eating schedule, it really make me wonder if, had it not been for you working on the field, you would’ve flown away with the wind.”

“I can cook just fine. I just get lazy and make ramen or get take out.”

Silence.

“It’s pretty delicious.”

Silence.

“... Ok, so it loses its glamour fast, but at least I had my breakfast today.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re really pushy sometimes. Y’know that, right?”

“You can beat my pride with a stick once you get on a healthy sleeping and eating schedule.” She quipped back and he could hear the smirk laced in her voice.

Fighting the urge to not roll his eyes (even if she wasn’t there, he felt like that would be a victory for her), Jack snorted. “Yeah, uh huh, now you’re asking a bit too much of me.” He glanced outside and saw the bar in view. “I gotta go, Ana. Talk with you later, ‘kay? My phone’s being stupid and calls to me don’t come in all the time, so I’ll most likely just call you from here on out of if that’s alright.” Aka _I’m a paranoid wreck over the idea that a Talon operative might hack even my burner phone so let me be safe, please and thank you._

Being the great colleague she was, she only chirped back, “Alright, Jack. Be safe, alright? Remember what you need to do.”

“Yes, _mother_.” He poked before he hung up the phone with a drawled inhale, ending with a huff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9 pages and 3,923 words later
> 
> What did you guys think? Kudos and reviews are loved and always noticed! 8)


	2. Café Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel used to take ballet and Jack is too sharp of a P.I. to not realize he's steadily falling into an "Oh Shit" moment.

Working at a coffee shop is hell. Regardless of how aesthetically peppy any tv show or movie could make it, the real thing was hell. Jack was a private investigator, a good one. He was used to moving around all over the place and acting good, but the next person who ordered some down-to-the-millimeter, detail-oriented, horribly mixed drink was gonna get glared at. He was told it’ll take a bit of adjustment by his coworker, Lúcio.

Lúcio was born and raised in Rio in a poor and crowded favela that was hit hard by a financial upheaval. He worked hard to get a soccer scholarship to come to Los Angeles. He’s currently a college student who fills up the shop with some good tunes and a bubbly personality. He’d been working at the shop since the first year of his studies as music major and he’s currently a junior who’s been training Jack.

Jack thought Ana was a bit crazy for recommending him this job to help get closer to Gabriel. It wasn’t the idea of working in the corner shop that stunned him, but it was the idea the barrel chested man with a powerful air would frequent this little place close to a bustle of noise. A metro was close by with the addition of bus stops. Jack glanced outside at the clean windows. He would applaud the place was comforting, with it’s low lighting, vines and birds painted on the walls and succulents hanging in little globes, a wall dedicated to art drawn by customers. Simple mahogany tables and matching chairs with cushions on the seats. It was cute. Simple. No wonder Gabriel would visit it.

“You ok, Jack?”

Jack snapped out of observation and looked at a worried Lúcio who’s hand was hovering over his shoulder. “Huh?”

“You alright? You were spacin’ out on me, man.” Lúcio smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, unease stopping it from getting to that point. “Did the job finally break you? I know you’re not used to this, but I can handle the front for a bit if you can hold off for 30 more minutes. Rush hour will end soon, so you can relax.”

Jack shook his head and chuckled. “Relax, Lúcio.” Reaching up, he squeezed the still hovering hand and lowered it down. “It’s alright. Sorry about that. I’ve just been thinking about some things, but I won’t let it affect me.”

“You wanna vent to me about it? I’m here to listen if you want.” Lúcio was too good a kid. Jack had only known him for a couple days, but he would snap someone’s bone for the him.

“Nah. It’s alright. I’ll be fine.” Jack snickered and told Lúcio he had people at the register, successfully switching the attention.

The rush hour simmered down and Jack refilled everything up and checked the trash while Lúcio cleaned the counters and windows. Someone opened a door and the bell rung. Jack heard Lúcio call out a, “Welcome back!” and his eyes shot up at the responding chuckle.

There, shivering with his hands stuffed inside a black hoodie, red shirt, and faded black jeans, was the man of the hour. Brown skin tinted red from the cold outside, winter taking no prisoners, and a black beanie hiding the soft curls. Gabriel patted Lúcio’s head and the latter stuck his tongue out playfully.

“Where’ve you been, man? It’s been ages since I saw your ugly mug!”

“‘Ugly mug’?” Gabriel gasped and playfully swatted at Lúcio’s head, but missed when the other stepped out of the way cackling. “I’m hotter than you and you know it, kid!”

“ _ Sure _ .”

Gabriel turned his head and chestnut locked with the sea who had a bag of coffee beans stuck in his hands. A myriad of emotions flew through his features and Jack saw a twitch in the corner of his mouth through the clean shaven goatee.

“Uh,” Jack brought up a hand in a wave, setting up the Acting 101 walls. “Hey. I, urm, wasn’t expecting to see you here? I, uh-”

“You sure you aren’t a stalker, golden boy?” Pearly teeth huffed in a laugh as he strode towards the blond. Jack noticed how his eyes dipped to the neckline of his work shirt and apron, probably wondering if those hickies were still there. Looking back up at him, he added, “How long’ve you been here?”

“Not long. Only a couple shifts. Lúcio‘s been helping me out.”

“Why’re you even working here? Thought you had some big white collar business you frequented or a farm to take care of. I mean, California is pretty okay for farming, but I thought you were only here temporarily.”

Oh, buddy, if only you knew. Jack smiled and set the beans into a cabinet. “No, I, uh, I’m actually freelancing as a ghost writer besides this. I’m living here, but it’s been taking a while to adjust and I’m living in a hotel to save up money, so…” He trailed off, glancing to the side.

Gabriel’s brows scrunched up. “You can’t live with your friends for a bit? Jump couches for a couple nights? I remember they bailed on you before, but still.”

Jack shook his head. “No. I don’t wanna bother them. It was pretty sudden, me moving to California.” It was the truth. It  _ was _ sudden. Nothing was relatively bad in Indiana. It was just boring. He wasn’t actually expecting a full scholarship to California State University, Long Beach. Kudos to him for being good at physics. That paper was hell to write. Jack held back a shiver at the memory.

“Well,” Gabriel looked him over again and glanced at the restaurant for a second. “Alright. Whatever floats your boat. Good luck with it all. Cheap ones aren’t too hard to find, though the quality sucks ass.” Pearly teeth laughed at him.

Jack smiled bashfully in response.

Before he could say anything else, Lúcio snickered by the register. “Hey, Gabe, my dude. You wanna order somethin’? A line’s starting to form cause you’re trying to flirt with  _ my  _ friend.”

The two looked over and Jack quickly noticed the lady and teenager behind Gabriel. Gabriel laughed and swiftly  apologized to them before asking for a heated chocolate croissant and a hot chocolate. When Jack had his back turned to put the croissant in a heater, a blush formed on his face when he heard Gabriel’s hushed chuckle to Lúcio, “Oh, bite me, cabrón. I definitely knew him before you. Pretty  _ close  _ to.”

“ _ Dude, _ ” Lúcio laughed and Jack glanced over to see the student making an ‘X’ with his arms. “TMI much?”

Gabriel only snorted before he stepped out of line and waited. Jack could feel the eyes burning on the back of his neck and when he turned around, his target was leaning over the counter beside the straws, hand under his chin and a raised brow. It was like the club all over again and Jack couldn’t look away. Jack quickly held his items out to him sheepishly.

“Gracias, papi chulo.”

It was a damn good thing that Gabriel took the drink from him because Jack immediately felt his face and the tips of his ears bloom into a glowing pink. His mouth slackened, trying and failing to create words as the latter glanced down to where his blush hid behind his shirt. Jack watched Gabriel smirk akin to a Cheshire cat, wide and dangerous, but with a playful glint in his eyes. To add to the blush, the latter winked at him as he wrapped his lips around his straw and left with a swagger in his hips. It was only when the bell rung at his departure did Jack.exe finish restarting.

* * *

 

After that meeting, it continued as planned. Ana’s intel was right on the nose. Gabriel visited this place more than Jack initially thought. Sometimes four times a week, occasionally even six. He usually never sat down, but on the few occasions he did, it was in the corner with a black and red laptop, stickers on the front of it of some video games. A couple of them were various poses of an egg with an obvious buttcrack. In that time, Jack questioned it and Gabriel promptly, offendedly (?) educated him on what it was. It didn’t take long for Gudetama to grow on him. Gabriel would always tell him he was working on his own freelancing work, but when Jack would ask what it was, the other would just make some dramatic gesture and grumble a, “Too-fucking-much.”

The two got close over other various topics. The simple bits, Jack already knew, but now with more detail.

Gabriel was born and raised in Los Angeles. He was an only child, but he travels the world occasionally due to the money he gains from “too much work”. His parents are gone, but they raised him to the best of their ability. He had two mothers, one of which who really wanted to give birth one day and took a donor. They taught him everything from manners and cleaning up to fixing a car and a home — at least, the basics for the latter. When it came to language, they made sure he had a little part of home and he was able to skip the required Foreign Language classes in high school and college since he fluently spoke Spanish.

_ Because he worked full-time, Jack was on break and sat across the latino. Gabriel looked at Jack curiously. “You speak Spanish, gringo?” _

_ Yes, actually. Fluently. He learned it at home with his own parents since it helped business. But, well, for the matter of possible future information, Jack shrugged. “I know German and a bit of Arabic cause of my colleague.” Technically it wasn’t a lie, right? A whisper of guilt wiggled in Jack’s chest, but he smashed it down. He had a job. There was no reason for guilt. Gabriel was his job. That was it. _

_ Gabriel whistled and chuckled. “Reaching high like always, golden boy. Look at you.” _

_ ‘ _ No reason to feel guilt. No reason at all.’  _ Jack chanted internally. One of the cons to his job was to not get attached. Attachment meant getting hurt, possibly in more ways than one. It meant danger. If only the man would stop smiling so much. He was far too playful to hate, mischievous like a silly cat. _

_ It made Jack almost forget who Gabriel was. _

There were some smaller details they learned from each other when Jack actually had time to hang out with him and visit places and shops he didn’t notice before. 

Gabriel loved the color red, especially when it was paired with black. 

_ “I hadn’t noticed.” Idled the blond as they window shopped. _

_ He ignored the snarky comment from Jack. _

Jack loved the color blue. but he also liked yellow. 

_ “.… Why do I feel like that’s unconsciously narcissistic?” _

_ “Whaddya mean?” _

_ Gabriel gave a dramatic flourish of his hand to Jack’s hair and eyes with his free hand. The other holding a drink from the movie. _

_ Jack blubbered. “Wha- No! No way is it narcissistic. They’re just really happy colors. Y’know, like the sky and the sun and stuff.” _

_ “ _ Sure _ , Jackie. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” _

_ It was later on, when Jack was laying in his itchy bed, drowsy, that he realized that was the closest Gabriel said his name since their one night stand. He wondered if Gabriel would be ok for having a nickname of himself. Jack wasn’t too colorful with nicknames. _

Gabriel loved watching sports, but would usually prefer football since he could ram into people legally. Jack was better at basketball and Gabriel smacked him on the back (if Gabriel said Jack choked on his food, he’s lying. Just sayin’.) with a guffaw when Jack added he broke his leg the first time he tried it and, since then, he would immediately cry if he was told to go to practice. He was taken out rather quickly. They were able to agree paintball was definitely their common ground.

Jack loved theatre, always having a love for the dramatics, and Gabriel took ballet on and off for a good handful of years.

_ Looking him over, Jack nodded approvingly. “You definitely got the prize after all that hard work. Ballet’s hard as crap. I thought about it, but after watching a couple videos, I feared for my feet.” _

_ Gabriel smacked his own ass with pride and Jack tried hard not to stare at the jiggle. “Fuck yeah I did. Hard work really paid off, but remember what they say, gringo.” _

_ “What do they say?” _

_ “Eyes on the prize.” _

_ “Oh my god, Gabe.” _

Gabriel used to have a short tempered pomeranian named Blanco. He got it when he was young and his creative abilities hadn’t grown at all. Considering the cloud of sleek white fur, he couldn’t think of anything better to call it at the time. 

_ “Uhh,” Jack rubbed the back of his head and glanced to the arm of the wooden bench. “Y’know, I can’t even judge you.” _

_ “Oh?” _

_ “Yeah, I, uh, I used to have this brown and white, blue-eyed australian shepherd named God. I thought I was such a big shot for turning the words around, but we had to rename her cause other people didn’t take too kindly to it.” Jack snorted, not at all guilty or embarrassed. He took a lot of pride in the aghast faces of the religious town. _

_ Some geese honked overhead as they returned for the steady end of winter. Gabriel leaned closer, his back lifting off the wooden bench. “What did you end up naming her?” _

_ Jack grinned at Gabriel, a beaming face of delight. “Church.” _

_ Quickly, before he could break, he told the stories of offended goers and how, as a child, he would pretend to start crying, confused as to why they would be angry at his dog and why it was bad. When the adults would try and hush him to explain, he would talk over them and steadily raise his voice from things like, “I’m sorry if she’s bad! She’s really sweet! She’s-She’s- Please don’t kill her! Don’t kill Church!” The adult’s comments would rapidly backpedal and no one would say anything else after. _

_ He was able to get Gabe to bend over cackling with a hand over his tearing eyes. “You were such a little shit!” _

_ “Still am.” Jack huffed and crossed his arms, the twitching smile on his face breaking despite the sad attempt of seriousness. _

Spring came in and Jack got used to the coffee shop. He adapted fast and noticed the regulars even faster. There was Angela, a german doctor who always looked kept together with her blond hair tied up and bangs in front of her face, blue eyes gleaming with knowledge. She was rather sweet from what Jack noticed, but he knew, as a doctor, she could snap a person to attention with a clarity of a boot camp instructor. There was also Hana, an adorable korean girl who was a youtuber under the name D.Va. He’d seen her walk in with long ruffled brown hair and eyes and “signature” pink marks on her cheeks. She took a liking to Jack almost immediately, an extrovert to heart.

Work was good and so was getting close to Gabe, but life in the rundown hotel was grating, not only his nerves, but his sleep. To save money, he chose a one star place, so he knew what he was getting into, but he didn’t think about how far it could’ve affected him. The walls were paper thin and more than enough times he had to place his headphones over his ears and blast music to cover the rhythmic banging from one wall, and the screaming children from the other wall. Then, there was the problem with the workers being horrid. They didn’t clean his room right, if they even decided to clean it all. Communication was hard to get by when he ran out of necessities, especially if he was in a rush. He thanked everything above Take Out was always an access in LA.

Not only that, but Jack’s thoughts would stray to the dangerously handsome man who he was supposed to investigate. Gabriel covered up his thoughts without him having noticed. When he walked around, he would see items that reminded him of the owl lover. Red? Gabriel. Anything sweet? Gabe. Two people laughing with each other? Gabe and Jack. Jack never took notice in just how much they hung out. Might as well hang up a neon red sign saying, “Shit.” Above Jack’s head, cause that was all he could think and worry about.

Jack’s vision blurred as he looked at the machine and he sighed and rubbed his eyes, setting down the bag of beans. His mind kept blanking when he needed it most, getting worse when he had to force his eyes to focus. It took too much energy to do now. He noticed how Lúcio would constantly look over at him, brows constantly knitted together and almost twitchy to grab him and send him off then and there. 

Speak of the devil. Lúcio placed a hand on Jack’s broad back. Sometimes he forgot how tall he was compared to the student. “Hey, Jack, why don’t you sit down, man? Rush hour ended for now and this is usually when it’s calm, y’know? Go sit down.” It ended as a suggestion though Jack wondered if that was an attempt at being serious. 

Lúcio wasn’t exactly a forceful person, but that was what Jack liked about him. Lúcio wanted nothing more than to spread happiness in its purest fashion. Despite his loss of sleep, Jack couldn’t bring himself to snap at his co-worker. The kid had a big thing for frogs for god’s sake. He had an unnecessary abundant amount of information on, not only frogs, but other amphibians. It was endearing seeing a pearly smile light up on his face as he rambled about them in their free time, his dreads swinging around wildly as he nodded his head and threw around hand gestures.

Jack shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m just-.” He paused and tried to remember what he was going to say. In a steady voice, he added, “Just… Trying to focus. It’s, um, it’s-it’s been a bit hard at the hotel. Lots of noise during the night and the staff couldn’t have been blunter about not giving a crap. Sorry, kid.”

Lúcio shook his head vehemently. “No need to apologize, Jack. I’m just worried is all. You’ve been really out of it lately. I mean, you’ve been doing your work, fast and efficient usually, but I’ve been noticing you’re slowing down a lot and, y’know, you’ve been spacing out a bit nowadays. You’re a full-time worker too and-”

“Lúcio.”

His mouth clicked shut.

“It’s alright. I’m tired, but I only have a couple hours left before my shift ends for the night.”

Before Lúcio could add a comment, the bell rang and they looked up. Gabriel walked through the door sporting a brown leather jacket and black jeans, plus his usual beanie. Jack missed being able to see his hair, but he wasn’t about to judge Gabriel for a comfort item. It’d also been a while since he saw his friend. The other disappeared for two weeks with no warning, other than, “I’m gonna travel to see a friend.” Jack knew better though.

Gabriel waved from his spot but froze and hurried his steps over to the counter, away from where a line should start. “You alright, Jackie?”

Jack cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” He tried to ignore the snort to his side, but Gabriel glanced at Lúcio before looking back at him. Traitor.

A brow furrowed over hardening, worried eyes and Jack noticed the twitch of his goatee. “Not sure if you’ve looked in a mirror, cabrón, but you look like shit.” Gabriel gestured to his face and, yes, actually. Thank you, Gabriel, for stating the obvious.

“Gee, thanks. You make a guy feel  _ so  _ special, Gabe. Are you an avid Yelper for critiquing the obvious?” Jack snorted and rolled his eyes. His head was starting to blank out again and, as he held on, he felt the room get warmer. Maybe he came off a bit harsher than he intended because Gabriel bristled at his comment.

“Don’t be an ass towards me, Jackie. I’m worried about you. You’ve got bags holding purses and purses holding coins under your eyes plus a 5’ o’clock shadow. Have you not been getting any sleep since I left? What’s going on? ”

Before his vocal filter could deteriorate any more, Lúcio spoke up. “He hasn’t actually.” Jack didn’t have to look over to feel the huffy squint. “His hotel’s been crap. One wall’s got people creating rhythm and the other’s got loud kids, service sucks, and it’s been hard for him to sleep in general.”

Gabriel frowned and brought up a hand towards Jack, but stopped mid-way, thinking better of where they were. He tried to crack a smile, but it wasn’t hard to see the faint worry wrinkles crinkle or the way those eyes that could shine like golden whiskey roved over Jack’s haggard form. “Geez, Jackie. You sure you don’t wanna go to a better hotel or something? At least a two-star one, damn.” Gabriel chuckled.

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but he felt his fingertips tingle. “I…” Trailing off, he squinted at Gabriel’s body and willed his eyes to focus. It was only for a split second they succeeded before they fell back. He bowed his head with a hand over his eyes. He must’ve made a noise, because he almost immediately felt Lúcio’s hands on his back and shoulder.

“Jack, go sit down.”

“Jackie? Hey.”

They sounded so far away. 

Jack barely felt his body fall as everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello!  
> Hope you guys liked the chapter! It was 3,669 words, but so, so fun to write tbh. >u<
> 
> My semester just started this week, so i'm gonna be a busy bee from here on out, but I do plan on writing up on this fic so no worries about that! I'm actually really happy with where this is going and seeing all the authors's work is a real motivation drive too.   
> I'm also creating pieces for the Reaper76 week going on between Jan 15-Jan 21, so please expect that for next week.  
> Until then, hope you guys are doing great!
> 
> Comments are always seen and Kudos are always appreciated. <3


	3. Conflicts of Interest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to call Ana

Jack didn’t really know what was happening. His body felt light, airy, and loose rolled into one, but he also felt heavy and weighed down. The first thing he felt was his consciousness opening up, senses tingling awake to everything around him. There was a dim light filtering through his closed lids and a fan twirling above creating a cool, rhythmic breeze across his face. He was laying on cushions taking in his weight with ease and his feet were up on a curve. A couch? Someone was muttering on the phone. With a small sigh, he opened his eyes and squinted them to focus.

“Jackie!” The muttering was replaced with hushed excitement. Jack gazed over at Gabriel who sat beside him on an extra chair from the cafe. Gabriel quickly said his goodbye to the person on the phone and leaned in to Jack. He reached over on the carpet and picked up a water bottle. “Drink some of this, buddy. I’m sure you need it.”

Jack eagerly sipped the gloriously chilly water before it was pulled away from him and placed on the ground again. He took a second to glance around and realized they were in the back room of the cafe. Not much was in it but some boxes of supplies and a couch to relax (or for fainters like Jack), overhead lights currently dimmed.

Petting his head and checking his temperature, Gabriel quietly prodded. “How do you feel?”

Taking a second to gather his voice, Jack replied, “No less exhausted than before I fainted. Less irritated though which is good.” Then his eyes widened. “Wait, how long was I out? Gabe, I need to get back to-”

A hand pushed him down and Gabriel grimaced at the idea. “ _ No _ , you’re gonna relax.”

“But-”

“Lúcio already told the manager and she called you off for the rest of the day and tomorrow. Both of them agree you need to rest and they’re  _ right _ .”

Jack deflated, not having the energy to fight. But of course, he had enough to pick at his shirt and gumble, “No point in going back to the hotel if I’m just gonna be awake cause of the screaming.”

“ _ Yeah _ ,” Gabriel drawled. “‘Bout that, Lúcio asked me to take you to my place.”

Jack glanced over with a raised brow. “What? Why?”

He nodded. “Kid wants me to make sure you don’t wreck yourself. He figured I was better off on keeping an eye on you, especially considering my place is, y’know, quiet and comfortable.”

Blue eyes glanced to the side, then back at Gabriel. He hadn’t seen his home since their one night stand. True, they hung out a lot, but never went back to each other’s places. In all honesty, the idea of asking Gabriel to take him home felt like a different road then the one he wanted to take for the information. “So, uh, are you gonna let me?”

A nod of a beanie. “Yep. You have enough energy to get up?”

Jack nodded and he got up after a moment to gather himself. Jack took off his apron and hung it on the backroom coat hanger and Gabriel adjusted his clothes to look less ruffled. When they stepped out into the front of the cafe, Lúcio was quick to check on Jack as soon as he finished with a customer. There was a warning in a huffy tone as Lúcio told him, “You better sleep.”

Jack thought that was the closest to “threatening” as Lúcio could get.

He was smart enough to not test those waters in case.

He raised his brow at Gabriel’s car.

“Is… Is that a 1969 Ford Mustang?”

Gabriel grinned proudly and puffed up his chest as he stepped up beside the driver’s seat. “Yep!” He popped the letter and patted the roof.

It looked surreal in the parking lot. As old a model as it was, it was clearly taken well care of. On the outside, sleek black showed Jack’s reflection and there was a red stripe on top of the hood and the sides. The inside had red leather seats that merged with everything else about the car and the windows were blacked out.

Gabe was  _ feeding  _ off how intrigued Jack was about his car. A balloon of pride popped in his chest and overflowed his chest with warmth. When they settled in and Gabriel pulled out of the spot, he informed Jack, “My mother, Lynette, was really into cars. I briefly talked about her before, remember?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, but you never really specified which mother was into cars. Sorta just listed up stuff that was taught to you.”

“Well,” Gabriel droned as he stopped at a sign, then turned a corner. A smile danced on his lips as he looked forward. “She had this car for a while and we started to work on it together when I was a teenager. It was easier for me to talk about stuff that I couldn’t do and it kept my mind off things when it felt like I was about to explode from stress. Fixing this car became a really good past time until, eventually, she had to pull me by my ear to eat.”

Jack laughed at the idea of a whimpering Gabriel being tugged around by his mother and a side glare was swiftly shot at him.

“Hey, it’s not funny!” Gabriel huffed. “It seriously hurt, Jack. My ear was  _ burning _ when I ate!”

Jack snorted causing another burst of laughter, now with the addition of Gabriel. After a while, he released a heavy exhale and quelled his laughter. Wiping a tear, he brightened, “Well, if you can take the compliment as an apology, to say this car is ‘awesome’ would be an understatement.”

Gabriel hummed and grinned jokingly as he threw a quick look at Jack at a stop light. “Might have to blow my ego up a bit more if you want me to take that excuse of an apology, Jackie.”

“No, no! I’m serious! This car is gorgeous! I can see the hard work you did and I’m sure you had loads of fun with your mom about it. And considering how I can see my own reflection on the side? Psh.  _ Please. _ I bet you take this beauty for a wash at least 4-5 times a week!”

Gabriel had a steadily growing blush dusting his cheeks the longer Jack talked. He hunched his shoulders and pointedly looked forward. “Christ, Jack, alright, alright.”

If he thought Jack was gonna stop now, he was wrong. This was like a jar of golden honey for the blond. “But,  _ Gabe _ ,” He purred and leaned on the arm rest, lashes fluttering. “You know how to take good care of the car. Lots of history with it I bet, and you make it look good as new.” A hand was shoved over Jack’s mouth and the corner of Gabriel’s mouth twitched into a smirk under the goatee. Get On Gabriel’s Nerve: Success.

“Oh hush  _ up _ , boy scout. Your apology was already accepted.”

The hand removed and Jack chuckled. Music was put on- a variety of songs from Gabriel’s phone- and they ended up belting out to Hamilton music. It was surprising that Gabriel had the whole album on his phone, but he didn’t question it.

▻ ◅▻ ◅▻ ◅

Gabriel’s penthouse was the same as when he left. Comforting amounts of space, a kitchen with an island, bouncy couches with a tv on the wall, and to top it all of with what really swept Jack away, a view of the city below them. They took their shoes off at the front door and Gabriel quickly got a thin blanket and and a pillow from his room. Tugging Jack to the couch and pushing him to lay down on the pillow, he tucked Jack in.

“Time to rest, Jackie. If you don’t, Lúcio’s gonna break down my door and put you to sleep himself.”

“Sure.”

“Hey.” A finger waggled at him in warning. “Lúcio can hit hard where it counts. Trust me.”

“He can barely sound threatening.”

“You’d be surprised, newbie.”

Jack rolled his eyes and shifted on his side to face the couch and curl into himself. He sighed in content as the warmth settled in as fast as his exhaustion. “Thanks, Gabe…“

“No problem, Jackie.”

He fell asleep to a warm hand petting his hair back.

▻ ◅▻ ◅▻ ◅

For the second time in less than twenty four hours, Jack woke up. His body buzzed with full charge and his stomach growled incessantly almost immediately. With a wide, twisting stretch and a lewd yawn, his muscles relaxed after having gained so much needed sleep. He waited a beat and heard no noise, nor Gabriel’s voice in general. The place was completely empty. Glancing at the coffee table, he noticed a bottle of water and a Big Mac box beside it. His stomach growled knowingly, and he took the burger as he sat up. A yellow sticky note was under the bottle and he glanced at it as he took a big bite.

_ Went out for some business. Be back in a bit. Use the black remote to watch tv.- G _

Jack frowned as he swallowed his food.  _ ‘Business.’ _ He huffed internally and took another bite a little too harshly.  _ ‘Right.’ _

He finished up his burger quickly and gulped down half the bottle of water before he acknowledged the balcony windows. Strolling to the inviting doors with the thin blanket around his shoulders, he stepped out in the heating air. He must’ve slept a little longer than a couple hours. Nighttime settled in a long time ago and if he looked close enough, he could see some stars in the sky despite the sea of bright lights below. He could see cars drive around, the sound of honks and even fainter noises of people bustling and screaming below.

_ ‘Ana would love this…’  _ He stretched before he froze mid-moan. Mouth dropping and face paling, realization shot him. _ ‘I haven’t called Ana in months.’ _

He couldn’t have fished out his burner phone from his pocket faster.

After a couple rings, a tired voice growled on the other side. “Amari, here. This better be good.”

“Hey, it’s me-”

There was some rustling and his voice shut at the sharpness of her voice. “ _ Jack?  _ Well look who rose from the dead. Where have you been? I thought you died!”

“About that. I fainted actually-”

“ _ ‘Fainted’ _ ?! Jack Morrison, I swear to everything above, you better have a damn better reason for why you didn’t contact me for  _ months _ , because last I checked, I trusted you to contact me every couple weeks  _ at most. _ I heeded your wishes to not contact you, but you’re still, not only my friend, but a worker. I had people calling me and I was running out of excuses to save your ass.”

The guilt only spiked up higher with every word she shot out. As much as her voice was razor edged, there was clear worry and evidently relief. Knowing her, she must’ve been pacing and checking her phone who-knows-how-many-times in a day. His tongue flicked out to lick his lips and he swallowed on a dry throat. “I’m sorry, I really am. I can’t begin to explain how bad I feel-”

“You’d better feel bad.”

“-And I won’t make an excuse about it. I’ll be sure to say ‘hi’ to you, ok? I’m sincerely sorry. I know you’ve been worried, but I’m not dead at least, right?”

There was a pause over the receiver, long and choking. Finally, a sigh. Jack’s muscles released. “I get it, but just-” He could imagine her pinching her nose. “Do not, and I am serious when I say this, Morrison, do not  _ ever  _ make me wait this long again. You do and I’ll drive over there myself to shoot you in the foot.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Good. Now, what’s been going on with you?”

Jack shifted the thin blanket around his shoulders and noticed a black high chair in the corner of the balcony. He quickly dragged it to the front, metal scraping against the concrete before he settled on it. With a quick glance to Gabriel’s room covered balcony door and the balcony door connected to the empty living room, he informed her loosely- both from paranoia and to assure himself safety for in case. “Remember when I said I met this guy at the club?”

She hummed.

“Turns out he frequents the coffee shop I work at which, I mean, it was awkward at first, but we adjusted relatively well?” Jack paused to think about it then nodded at himself with a smile at the memories. “We hung out a lot, walked around, went to the movies, stuff like that. I learned some stuff about him too, but nothing you’d care about though, you grump.”

Ana snorted. She knew that meant he didn’t have any new information, but she wasn’t surprised. They understood this job would take a lot longer than a couple months. It was too dangerous to try and rush. She was proud Jack was able to at least make use of the time he wasn’t informing her about.

“I’m actually at his home right now.”

She paused. “ _ What _ .”

Jack quickly shook his head though he knew she couldn’t see it. “Not like that, not like that! I fainted at work-”

“ _ Jack- _ ”

“-But I’m better now!” He quickly rushed out to ease her nerves. “I tried to tell you in the beginning, but you wouldn’t let me finish!”

“Because I was pissed at you. I’m not going to apologize about that. But how did you end up at his house?”

Jack picked lint off the thin blanket and looked out towards the scenery. “My hotel sucked ass. Yeah, I got the one star to save money, but in all honesty, it wasn’t worth it no matter what. On one side, people were fucking, on the other side, kids were screaming, and the staff never did their work, sometimes the electricity failed for no damn reason…” His voice trailed off and he clicked his tongue. “I need to go somewhere else, that’s for damn sure. Gabe came back from a two-week business meeting and I sorta fainted at the front of the cafe. He took me to his house and let me sleep. I was taken off work for two days.” A lillet fell in his voice unconsciously.

Ana yawned and there was a tenseness layering the quip in her voice. “So you guys are on a nickname basis, huh?”

His hand froze on his jeans. Clearing his throat, he quickly tried to organize himself. “Well, yeah. We’re friends.” He tried to play it off like how it was labeled, but again, she saw through it.

Ana hummed and he could imaginer her crossing her arms, phone between her shoulder and ear. “Jack, you still haven’t created a nickname for me and we’ve known each other for years. You talk about him closely, more than expected.”

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, you know.” He threw wit, but he knew she wouldn’t bite for it. “I’m not falling for him. I’m not.”

Steel underlaid her voice. “Remember why you’re there, Jack. There’s no time for you to fool around. You have things to do and people are waiting for you.”

“I know.” He tried to ignore the prickle of annoyance. He was a grown man dammit. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Are you sure? Because you sound like a lovesick teenager who’s trying to convince himself otherwise and not someone I stood for.”

Jack stayed silent.

There was a pause between them and again Ana sighed. “I just… Don’t want you hurt, Jack. You get attached fast sometimes during these cases, especially when you start to sympathize, and I end up having to remind you time and time again what you’re doing. Remember the facts, remember what you need to. I’m going to hang up now, but you better call me again soon. I’m serious. If you don’t, I’m sending a friend.”

“Alright.” His voice choked. He’d been silent as a ghost as she pulled up the secrets he concealed out from under his bed. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything.

“Goodnight, habībī.”

“Night…”

There was a click and he was left to his thoughts. One phrase that reared its head the most was,  _ ‘Oh no.’ _ He didn’t know what to do, much less what to think was safe. He knew his goal. He knew he was closer to Gabriel now, but it didn’t feel enough to just try and find the details yet. He had to get closer, but the idea speared a chill down his spine. He wasn’t given a time limit considering how no one knew how long it could take to get close to a Talon operative, especially someone so tightlaced. 

His consciousness growled in the back of his mind with rolling eyes.  _ ‘You know damn well what you need to do. You need to shove those feelings down. He’s a killer, a job to you. Get yourself together.’ _

But it was  _ hard _ . He should’ve taken notice of the amount of time he spent with Gabriel and the openings he clearly had to prod some more. Not Gabriel’s quirks; not the ways his mouth would twitch before he smiled or the way they always seemed to be shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. He shouldn’t have looked too deeply with the way Gabriel was ready to be at his side and to care for him. The Talon operative evolved from just a job to someone  _ more  _ and it was terrifying to Jack.

As if on cue, the balcony door from the living room slid open and he startled a gasp.

“You ok, Jackie?” Strong hands enveloped his shoulders to massage him.

Said man turned around and positively melted under worried eyes. “I-” His voice hitched and tears welled up in his eyes and, for the life of him, he didn’t know why. Or maybe he did and he didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Alarmed, Gabriel twisted the top of the chair so Jack could face him easier and he lowered himself. “Hey, hey.” He hushed. “What’s the matter?”

Jack shook his head, lowering it in unbridled shame. Those calloused hands cupped his cheeks like he was glass and he felt himself break. Tears fell and he shook his head harder and the hands held him still, wiping his tears away.

“It’s ok, it’s alright. I don’t know what happened, but it’s gonna be ok.”

_ ‘It’s not, it’s not, you fucking idiot. It’s so far from ok. I’m falling for you, but it’s too late for me to step out. It’s too late and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.’ _

Jack couldn’t bring himself to speak. When he attempted, he blubbered. He just wrapped shaking arms around Gabriel, too humiliated and ashamed to look at Gabriel in the face. He ended up focusing on the sweet comforting nothings that hushed into his ear and tried to soothe whatever emotions he choked on. Eventually, Gabriel lifted him up into his arms and transferred them to the living room couch. He sat beside Jack after getting tissue. They sat on the couch for who knows how long and Jack steadily quieted down into small sniffles, swollen eyes, and a stuffy nose.

“Sorry…” He said after a pause, face flush from crying and shame still burning strong. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize, Jack. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He knew Gabriel thought he meant he was sorry for crying. But he stayed quiet.

Later on, Gabriel would ask him if he wanted to stay at his home until he was able to support himself. He figured if Jack continued at the rate he was going, he would burn himself out. Jack could only nod and say a relieved thanks to Gabriel, but the other’s kindness only added blood to the knife of guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffinator was beaten with a brick by Angst Attempt at the end of this.
> 
> "I'm gonna type up a paperhat date now." I say as I ignore the twitch of Fluffinator's body at my feet.


	4. Extra Measures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel has a dinner and movie night with Jack and a talk he's been trying to avoid.

Gabriel growled under his breath and was a breath away from grabbing Jack by his neck and hauling him off the balcony.

“I’m telling you, Gabe, I’m _right_!”

His fist slammed on the kitchen island echoing over the _clack_ of Jack’s quickly shut mouth. It did nothing to deter that stubborn blue eyed glare. _"Jack,"_  Gabriel’s scowl was going to be permanent with how far it was pulled. “For the last time: _salt isn’t a fucking spice_!”

Jack eyed him a while longer before his features started to crack and peer into a cheek splitting grin and sparkling eyes. Laughter poured from his mouth like golden silk and Gabriel was too stunned to try and say anything. Honestly, the laughter bordered maniacal and he worried he’d have knock his friend out and call 911.

“The fuck are you laughing about?” The ‘Fight the Chef’ apron stretched over Gabriel’s chest as he shifted with arms crossed and muscles bulging over a black compression t-shirt.

“Oh my god! I was joking, dumbass! Of course I know that salt isn’t a spice!”

Gabriel simply ignored the frustrating little shit and kneeled down to his oven, grumbling something along the lines of ‘murder’ and ‘ocean’. If Jack heard or not, he was smart enough to muffle his chuckles. The seasoned chicken was only twenty minutes from being taken out and Gabriel’s stomach growled in excitement.

Jack had been living with him for only a month so far. He was worried that boyscout didn’t wanna be here and maybe forcing the freckled blonde in his home wasn’t the best choice. During the first couple days, Jack seemed far away even when they were right beside each other. Calling out to him required a couple tries and a little bit of a strong nudge. Sometimes he would catch Jack staring off into space on the balcony chair. Gabriel would be a liar if he said he didn’t notice the way Jack seemed to tense when Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder or got too close. It stung. But Gabriel wasn’t gonna do anything to make his new roommate uncomfortable and backed off. He wasn’t surprised when he would ask Jack what was wrong and got nothing but a vague response.

_‘I’m just tired I guess.’_

_‘I’ve been thinking about stuff, it’s ok.’_

_‘Oh, uh… Sorry about that. I guess my body’s rebooting or something, y’know? Eh-heh.”_

Eventually whatever nibbled at Jack from the inside eventually wore off and died. That was what he hoped. Gabriel was (to embarrassing degree) relieved when the other started to get close to him again and they acted like they normally did with playful jabs and stupid debates.

He tried to not let it itch at him, but he was nosy. It was one of his charming points, dammit. But he cared more about Jack’s stuff _staying_ personal more than he did his own curiosity and kept it at that. If anything, he distracted himself with watching blondie get up to par with his sleeping again. The dark circles disappeared and he looked more refreshed with each passing day, less of a mess with spitfire sass.

_Why should I worry?_

_Why should I care?_

_It's just bebopulation_

_And I got street saviore faire_

 

_The rhythm of the city_

_But once you get it down_

_Then you can own this town_

_You can wear the crown_

Gabriel clicked his tongue and immediately stood up to fish out his phone from his pocket.

**Boop**

**Mobile**

**Remind me Message**

**Decline Accept**

“Is that…”

He glanced up at the wide eyed owl that was his friend.

“Is that Oliver and Company?”

Gabriel smirked and nodded with a quick, “Everyone’s got a disney song in my phone. Lots of variety to apply it to someone. Hey, can you do me a favor and take out the chicken if i’m not done with this call on time?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

Gabriel said his thanks as he ushered to his room. The door clicked behind him and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he answered the phone. “What do you want.” He could already feel a headache coming on.

“Buenos tardes a ti tambien.” Purred the reply. When he didn’t acknowledge her words, the girl on the other line only snickered and added in, “Aw, come on, Gabe-”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Right, right. Only your boy toy can call you it.”

Again, he stayed silent, but his eye twitched and his patience thinned.

“Just informing you that we need to do a mission soon.”

“ _What?”_ They just finished one! Goddammit. As much as he was ready to mess shit up, he wanted to stay at his home a little longer. Partially because he was still adjusting to sharing it, so the idea of leaving it alone was unnerving, and partially because he wanted to stay with Jack some more. He knew what the cost was for having a shared home, but there was a reason he had a hidden space inside his wall soon after he moved here.

Sombra groaned and he could imagine her rolling her eyes, blue bordering purple. “Trust me, I _know_ , but Doomy says it’ll be a little one. We’re leaving in two days, coming back the same night- if it goes to plan- so don’t pack anything. It’s a quick B &E, a shot here, some information stolen there, then we’re back doing our own things, me with my fun and you with your _güero.”_

Gabriel had been trying to calm down his frustration, pacing the perimeter of his room while she informed him, but he couldn’t help but rake his hand down his face. Sometimes he _loathed_ the amount of work that was required, but he was one of the main hands of Talon. He didn’t exactly have much room to back down cause of laziness. With a loud groan and a curse, he only agreed with a gruff, “Fine.” If he said anything else, he was gonna flip.

“How’re your wounds from the last mission? Are your old bones alright?”

“I’m not that old.”

“Sure.”

With a click of his tongue, he begrudgingly sat on the edge of his bed. “They’re fine. Whatever Moira gave me worked and my wounds healed up fast.”

“How much do you think I can get if I sold some of her things?”

“Not much considering her rabbits might unhinge their jaws and attack you the second you try and break in. Pretty sure they’re robots.”

“Who said it had to be me?”

“I’m not doing it.”

“Who said it had to be you?”

Gabriel looked up at the ceiling and asked whatever deity that looked down at him, _‘Why?’_

There was typing on the other side of the phone, a shuffle of a blanket(?) and she chuckled. “How’s your güero?”

“Stop calling him mine.” Almost subconsciously, Gabriel glanced at the door. He regretted ever telling Sombra about his new roommate, but when he commented she couldn’t just drop by anymore, it was nearly two hours of her harassing him before he told her why. “He’s fine though. Sleeping more, eating healthy. Turns out he can hold his spice better than I expected, but not too much.”

“And here I thought he’d be sleeping less. You didn’t do anything yet? ¿Estás oxidado? Puedo darte un consejo.”

“Tsk. I don’t need help. I’m a grown ass man who can sweep him off his feet if I wanted to. I don’t have a crush on him, stop insinuating I do.”

“I don’t know, Gabi.” She sing-songed and his eye twitched again, his phone creaking under his grip. “You talk about him like a lot of novellas you like so much. So poetic, dios mio, almost makes me wish I was straight.” He already knew there was a wicked grin sporting her face. “Almost.”

Just as he was about to snip back a comment, his ears twitched when he heard the timer go off in the kitchen, followed by a yelp, and something falling with a loud shatter. An “Oh shit!” resounded through the door, quick shuffling, and something akin to a foot sweeping the wooden floor.

“Hold on a second.” Gabriel stood up and opened his door, peeking outside at Jack who sported a flustered full face blush. He mused on how it was a good look on the idiot. “You ok, boyscout?”

Jack shot his head up from the island as he set the chicken down, red oven mitts safely on. “Yeah! Totally! A-ok!”

“What was that bang?”

“What bang?”

Gabriel squinted and brought the phone up to his ear again. Sombra cackled on the other side, probably having heard it herself. “I’m gonna go. See ya. Also, stop changing your name in my phone.”

“Nothing can stop me.”

He hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket. Traveling back towards Jack, a frown tugged at the corner of his mouth as he noticed the shattered plate on the ground. In the end, he was pleased and thoroughly distracted by the scent of the savoury chicken clouding the air in wisps and his stomach growled for attention. “What happened?”

Jack shuffled as he took off the gloves and rubbed the blush off the back of his neck. “I, well-,” He cleared his throat. “I was gonna set up the food while you were gone. My hands slipped cause of the timer. I’m sorry for breaking your plate, I can buy you a new one if you want.”

Gabriel only shrugged. “Gonna be honest, Jackie, I really don’t care right now. Just clean it up, get ready to eat, and be lucky you’re wearing my socks. I’m starving and you and your clumsiness are not _nearly_ strong enough to get between my stomach and I right now.”

“Imagine my surprise when spitfire Gabriel Reyes has fluffy socks.”

With a deadpan stare, the very man said, “You respect my fluffy fuckin’ socks under my roof, Morrison.”

Jack giggled (no, Gabriel didn’t find it cute. Maybe.) and nodded as he went to the pantry to get the pan and sweeper. Gabriel took off his apron, folded it up and set it into a drawer in the island, plus the mitts. He busied himself with setting up the food and placing them up on the other side of the island. Gabriel yelped when his barstool nearly tipped over from jumping into it from excitement, hastily grabbing the counter for balance. Jack wheezed and cracked up on the bar stool beside him.

The laughter boomed like thunder when Gabriel pushed Jack off his seat. Secretly, he’d taken a picture of the blond rolling on the floor, guffawing like a fool and hugging his stomach on his side when he snorted like a pig by accident. Maybe it would’ve eased up faster had Gabriel not been poking and prodding Jack’s ticklish sides in revenge with his own fuzzy socks. Gabriel fought back a smile as he chewed his food and eventually had to huff and remind the boyscout to eat.

They talked, pulled out some glasses for wine, and Jack’s shoulders slumped when Gabriel told him about his leaving. “Aw, for real? Already?”

Gabriel nodded as he twirled the wine left in his cup. His food disappeared fast and a little less than half of the chicken survived their dinner. “Yeah. I’m not a crazy fan of it either, but work is work.” He glanced to the side with a tired sigh.

“You can’t take a break?”

“Nope.”

“Damn, Gabe.” Jack patted his arm and he tried not to think about the warmth left there or how those rough hands felt nice on his skin. It was the wine messing with his head. Yeah. The wine. “Text me when you’re coming back? Or can you not do that..?”

“Might not be able to, Jackie. You know how it is. I go MIA until I come back.”

“Fine.” Jack sighed and his heart clenched at the sullen tone.

With pursed lips and another quick sip of his wine, Gabriel changed to a lighter subject. Particularly what movie they should watch for the night. It didn’t take long (thankfully) to get Jack driven by it. It took even less to hear him start rambling about why they should watch _Up_ instead of WALL-E _._

“I’m just saying,” Jack grumbled as he towel dried the dishes. “I’d rather go to sleep after an emotional story. WALL-E had it’s time, _twice_ may I remind you. Up only had one and that intro has yet to be beaten personally.”

Gabriel hummed as he soaped up the dishes. “Be careful how you talk about WALL-E to me, tonto. I’ll defend that little robot with my life. How much of a cold, heartless bastard do you have to be to look at this robot that’s been stuck in a desolate world for who knows how long, separating and organizing trash _with a cockroach as his only friend_ and tell me that the intro doesn’t beat Up.” He handed Jack a dish with a raised brow and a judgement tilt from his goatee.

Jack glowered back at him as he begrudgingly took the dish. “I’m not saying that WALL-E sucks, I’m just saying that it’s more emotional seeing the years pass as Carl and Ellie go from childhood sweethearts to being married and they’re striving for their dream, and no matter how many times they save up, something happens and they use up their Dream Jar. It’s got the right balance of realism, comedy, and emotional agony that I feel like WALL-E doesn’t have. Ellie was absolute heartbroken about not being able to have a kid, remember?”

Actually, he didn’t. In all honesty Gabriel wasn’t as fierce about this WALL-E v.s. Up subject as he played off. He vaguely remembered watching WALL-E, an empty box of tissues, and a hysterical Sombra. There was just something endearing watching people become passionate when they’re talking about a seemingly meager subject, Jack included. With a hum, Gabriel nodded. “So I take it we’re watching Up?”

“Hell yeah.”

That night cooled down with them laying on opposite sides on the couch, fuzzy socks being playfully shoved into each other’s faces at several moments. Gabriel didn’t tear up at the beginning of the movie and if Jack said he did, it was a puddle of filthy lies. Did he curse the creators for doing that to Ellie though? Ohh yeah. And he hoped they felt his wrath in their dreams.

A couple days later, after re-checking that his room was secure, he met up with Widowmaker and Sombra at a private jet. It was property of a Talon connection and considered payment after a ‘favor’. The sun had just finished setting and clouds covered the sky.

They didn’t need to carry anything since their weapons and clothes were already in the jet and Gabriel yawned as he clambered onto the it in a black hoodie and jeans, beanie in place. Sombra in her black and purple attire bounded right behind him with a cheeky smirk, purple and black makeup as perfect as usual. Widow followed close behind with her usual prestige looking clothing. He pointedly ignored the look of distaste shot his way. They would change into their outfits when they were closer to the location, but for now, comfort was a point.

They sat in three of four seats, two on each side with a table between them. Sombra sat beside Gabriel as he looked out of the window and Widowmaker sat facing him. Everything inside was adjusted from pristine white to black marble and red cushions. A large flat screen was tucked in a corner opposite of them with an XBox One console under it and right beside it was a long couch to sleep on. The interior screamed money and they didn’t have to pay for any of it.

As the jet lifted, Gabriel finally returned the glower at Widowmaker’s pinched expression. “Your face’ll get stuck that way, y’know.”

“I don’t like it.” Widowmaker crossed her arms, pale skin almost translucent and blue veins showing.

“Oh, Dios mio.” With a curse, Gabriel rolled his eyes. “You’re still on this? It’s been a month.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“Then it’s a good thing it’s _my_ house.”

“You shouldn’t let someone you barely know into your home like that. What if he finds something? It’s irresponsible you would do that.”

The air grew bitter, weaving and tightening into itself as Gabriel flared his nostrils to try and control himself. The grip on his arm chair tightened and he vaguely registered Sombra being stock still beside him. “You act like I didn’t already think of that, _Amélie_ . What, you think I’m some rookie? An _idiot_? I know damn well what I was doing when I allowed him into my home and I already made sure it was locked up. He’s harmless. Can’t even set up a table without dropping a plate, much less take care of himself.”

Widowmaker sneered at him, a canine bearing itself. “Your emotions are getting ahead of you, _Gabriel._ You’re becoming too close to him. Did you even let Sombra research him? Did you do _any_ background research on this-” Her nose wrinkled. “ _Sous-merde_.”

“No and I plan on keeping it like that. He’s in _my_ home with _my_ rules and he’s _my_ friend.” His body coiled itself and he was five seconds from jumping across his seat to fight her.

Of course Widowmaker didn’t have her name for nothing. If Gabriel wanted to act like a child, then so be it, but he wasn’t about to take them down because of his dick was misplaced. “It may be _your_ problem, connard, but it’s ours too. You take some stray into your home and you don’t even check it for fleas.”

Gabriel slammed a fist on the armchair and rose sharply followed by Widowmaker with sharp reflexes, “Es mejor que cierres tu maldita boca!”

“Whoa, whoa!” Sombra stood and held a hand over their chests, looking between them with a glare. “¡Cálmense!”

Gabriel and Widowmaker snarled down at one another, daring the other to make a move. It was clear what the message was. _One move and you’re out._

Sombra was having none of it and was more than ready to do what she needed to to make sure it didn’t get out of hand. Being in a silent jet with two knocked out passengers was better than being in a jet with two fighting passengers, especially _up in the sky_ . “We do _not_ have time for this! Both of you are acting like children!” She returned their narrowed looks with bared teeth. “Sit down and act like adults! You want to have a fight? Then be my guest, but wait till we’re on the ground. If you can’t do that then I’ll report it to Doomfist myself about how his two _top_ co-workers can’t even settle things like adults.”

There was a moment of silence until eventually Gabriel sat down first with a snarl in his breath. Widowmaker followed hesitantly, but continued to be tense, as if Gabriel would immediately change his decision the second her guard went down. After a few breaths, Sombra lowered her hands and settled them on her hips, but refused to sit down. “Gabriel.”

He grunted a reply as he focused outside the window.

“I say you let me look him up.”

Immediately he whipped his gaze towards her, eyes blazed with fury and just barely holding himself back from jumping up. “No. _No._ You’re not going to fucking do that.”

Sombra pursed her lips, but refused to take the bait of raising her voice. It never failed to piss anyone off when you kept calm and made the other person feel like a child. “‘ _Yes,_ I am. If you have so much faith in him, then you have nothing to worry about. But we,” She gestured to Widowmaker and herself. “Don’t feel safe. You want us to relax, you pay a price.”

Gabriel had to take several calming breaths. It was hard to relax when he felt Widowmaker’s unsparingly weighted stare that only pissed him off more, but it was worse because they both made sense and he _hated_ it. He didn’t want Talon to mix in with that part of his life. It stayed separate for a reason. Going to the coffee shop was personal. Watching his novellas was personal. _Jack_ was personal. He didn’t want those small parts of himself, _his life,_ to be peered at like some scientific experiment.

But time was ticking. Doomfist might catch word, complaints from Widowmaker, probably even Sombra, and that was the last thing he needed. It didn’t help that he was nearly caught once a long time ago and Sombra had to hack and erase his information.

With nails digging into the cushion of his arm chair, his eyes blazed towards the two. “ _Fine._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whistles* Things are getting tense with the edge squad.
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing in Gabriel's P.O.V. Might jump back to Jack's next chapter, might not. Fluffinator and Angst Attempt are currently arm wrestling for what the next chapter should be. It's sorta cheating when one free hand has a knife up against the other's throat, and the other has a gun under the other's chin.
> 
> Thank you for waiting for this chapter btw! College has been going well and I got a few things cleared up for what I should do next. ALSO. I used Google translate cause I'm still waiting to magically know any language I wanna know, but alas. If I have it wrong, please message me and I'll fix it. Thank you!
> 
> Translate:  
> Buenos tardes a ti tambien- Good afternoon to you too.
> 
> Güero- White guy
> 
> ¿Estás oxidado? Puedo darte un consejo. - Are you rusty? I can give you advice.
> 
> Tonto- Fool
> 
> Sous-merde- Someone not even worthy of being called a shit
> 
> Connard- Used for when a guy pisses you off  
> (Thank you, Gwadael for the fix! 8D)
> 
> Es mejor que cierres tu maldita boca- You better shut your fucking mouth
> 
> ¡Cálmense!- Calm down! (Thank you to Kate for the fix! ^^)

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](http://rascalbirdy.tumblr.com)
> 
> Kudos are always loved and please leave a comment of your thoughts <3


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